Improvement in harvesters



1.- HARRIS.

: Harvester. No. 80,479. V Patented July 28, 1868.

N, PETERS. Fhflo'ulhcgmphtn Waihinglon. n. c.

gin-its): gram {gaunt @ffirr.

Lazm Patent No. 80,479, dated m 28, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN HARVESTERS.

dig: gtlgrbnlt Itfttifth in in tips: Ztitttrs-Zjatnit anti noting t at at flgesmut.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that 1, JAMES HARRIS, of the city of Janesville, in the county of Rock, and State of Wisconi sin, have invented a new and improved Mode of Constructing Harvesters; and I do hereby declare that the following is.a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part'of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view, with reel and seat detached. 1

Figure 2 is a vertical section of the grain-end, on the line of the rod g. i V

Figure 3 -is a view from the under side of the forward end of} the framework and pole, showing the connectingmechanism for raising and lowering the cutting-device.

Figure 4 is a top view (as it would appear with the box 0 removed) of the driving-mechanism for the sickle.

Figure 5 is a vertical section through the line mg of the same; and

Figures 6 7 are side views, showing how the cutting-device is raised and lowered.

The nature of my invention consists in a certain combination of the parts hereinafter more fully described, whereby both ends of the cutting-device of a harvester are raised or lowered separately or simultaneously.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describeits construction and operation.

I construct my machine in any of the ordinary forms of the single-wheel harvester, providing it with the ordinary appendages, as a drive-wlicel, F, framework 13 B, pole A, cutter-bar E, pitma-n V, sickle G, guards i,

platform H, grain-divider I, grain-board K, grain or caster-wheel L, and reel and seat, and other parts not shown.

To secure the raising and lowering of the cutting-device, I attach to the frame B 13,. by suitable bearings,

a shaft, 0, that has the part, it, between the bearings, turned out, so as to form a double crank, as shown. This crank is connected by the rod 6 to the arm d of the pole A, and the shaft is operated by a hand-levcr,l\1, that is provided with an ordinary spring-catch, N-O, that works in the circular ratchet P. These devices directly aifect only the' end of the platform and cutter-bar nearest the drive-wheel.

To raise and lower the other or grain-end, I attach to the inner end of the shaft 0, a crank, d, that is connccted by the rod e to the crank f. This crankf is attached to the lifting-rod or shaft 9, that runs underneath the guards t, in a groove in the cutter-bar, or in any suitable bearings, and is attached firmly to the clutch k, that couples with'the part1. p

The parts, It and i, of the coupling are held together by the nut is, fig. 2. The part, i, is hinged to the arnrlof the caster-wheel L. The use of the clutch-coupling ht'is to adjust the altitude of the grain-end of the harvester; but the clutch 7i may be dispensed with and the part, 2', attached directly to the rod g; or the arm I of the grain-wheel may, without the intervention of other parts, be attached directly to the rod 9.

Owing to the movement and weight of the machine, and the torsion or twisting of the rod 9, it is found that the grain-end of the harvester is subject to a constant vertical vibration or movement that greatly impedes the progress and perfectness of the work. To prevent thisvertical movement I make the part, 2', of the clutchcoupling in the form somewhat of a segment of a circle, as shown, and upon its circular face apply a brake, rp, that has its fulcrum in thepart, u, of the box 8, that is attached to or cast on the part, m, of the harvester. This brake is operated in any suitable manner, as by the screw o, that works in the upper part of the box, as more fully shown in fig. 2. k i

My driving-mechanism for the sickle is shown in fig. 4, and, consists of a. bevelled wheel, W, keyed to the shaft 'l of the bull-\vhccl I and working in a bevelled pinion, a, attached to a shaft, Z1, that is supported.

at one end by the cross-bar B, and at the other end by the elbow-shaped snpportf, that is secured at one end to theside of the box C, while the other end rests on the frame'picce B; also of a spur-wheel, c, secured to the shaft 1;, and working in a spur-pinion cl, secured to the shaft e, that is'supported in the same manner as the shaft 6. On the outer end of the shaft c is the crank-head U, that operates, through the pitman V, the sickle G.

To raise the cutting-device, it is only necessary to carry the hand-lever'M back to the position shown by the dotted lines in fig. 6, thereby turning the shaft 0, and carrying'down the crank it, and through it the rod 6 and the end of the pole, when the parts assume the position shown by the dotted lines in fig. 6, and the end of the cutter-bar nearest the drive-wheel is raised. The shaft a, turning, carries back the crank cl, and with it the rod e and the crankf, thereby turning the rod 9, and raising the grain-end of the harvester, as shown by dotted lines in fig. 7. 7

By carrying the hand-lever forward the operation'is reversed, and the cutter-bar is lowered.

It will be observed that the shaft 0 is not dispensed with, in order to allow either end of. the cutter-bar to be raised independentlyof the other end, as that shaft is indispensable. To raise the end of the finger-bar next the drive-whcelythe shai't a, crank it, and link b, are the only parts used or required, the raising of the bar being accomplished by changing the inclination of the'pole A with reference to the framework. If either the crank it or the link 6 be dispensed with, the grain-end of the finger-bar is raised, while the other end remains stationary. To raise the grain-end of the cutter-bar, the power is transmitted from shaft 0, through crank d, while, to raise the driving-wheel end, it is transmitted through the crank It. I

I do not claim the raising and lowering, per se, of either end of the cutter-bar, nor of both ends, but simply the arrangement of the devices by which those-results are accomplished.

'What I do claim, is- I I 1. The arrangement of the shaft 0, operated by the hand-lever M, and having thereon the crank d, with the rod e, crank f, shaft g, and caster-wheel L, substantially as and for the purpose described. 7 Y

' 2. The combination and arrangement of the shaft g, with the parts, and brake rp, either with or without the clutch 7i, whereby the vertical vibration caused by the torsion of the rod is prevented, substantially as described. v

3. The combination and arrangement of the rod y, part i, and arm Z, the last two forming the caster-arm of the grain-wheel L, when the part i is attached directly to the rod g, and is made the fulcrum upon which the caster-arm terns, as well as the moving lever, by means of which the cutter-bar is raised or lowered, substantially as described.

4. The combination and arrangement of the lever M, shaft e, cranks d and It, rods 5 and e, crankf, shaft g, clutch It, part -i,-and brake rp, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

JAMES HARRIS.

Witnesses:

SYLvaNUs D. LQCKE, J. B. WRITING. 

